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I started to use Japanese Natural stones and rare knives because i wanted to know much more about them and wanted to share my knowlige.
Starting of JNS website was mostly dived by sharing knowlige about Natural stones and make them more available for reasonable prises to us western costumers

But now with many bad events i started to doubt how much i really want to share
I can see now how Dave struggled about it in old forum. You really want to be very open and share all info with people just to get take advantage of by other sellers or some that want to become a seller !

They try to take all the hard work you have done, for research, try 1000 of different solutions and spend 100 000th. off bucks.

And sell all much cheaper by using my experience without using they own knowlige at all !! It is just example

Also i get many questions from some of my costumers that i can not just answer anymore, like: where do you buy your stones ?? Where can i buy them in Japan when i go there ? where can i buy Shigefusa, is this stone
from other seller good or bad, and many many more ...... I get them every day and now it seems like i have to be more and more careful of what i am saying.

Very sad and very bad for our community. Now i undestand how some people take money to log in to they website. I see also it is not only me that is more careful but many other Vendors on this forum and i now undestand them 100 %

So please from now on unfortunately Understanding my Limits and what i want to share

Also please make your comment here if you have some good ideas or advise !!

Hi, as a chef instructor I can entirely empathise with your predicament. Can I suggest a positive outcome may be to publish a book?

Maxim-
I feel very much in the same boat. When i started this business, my goal was to share as much as possible, help bring the craftsmen to the front, teach about what makes knives great, etc. Sadly, it seems that in the real world, that kind of view is naive. I still try to share as much as possible. However, a very small portion of people take advantage of this in a way that makes it impossible for us to continue in that manner. It really sucks. The worst part is that its really just a small number of people, but it kind of messes it up for everyone.

Thank you for starting this thread.

I hope this doesnt come across in the wrong way.

Maxim and I have talked in the past about how there is already an unwritten code of conduct among vendors, but sometimes we wish there was one for customers too.

Maxim: you are one of the most open and knowledgable persons I have met on these forums. I have benefitted greatly from your advice and it has encouraged me to do business with you (to the detriment of my bank account!). However, you need to protect your business interests, and really don't have to explain, in my opinion, your choice. It is unfortunate that some might use your hard work to benefit themselves at your expense. Most on this forum would not, but seems that you have experienced this, albeit maybe not from members. I support you and your business and thank you for making natural stones and knives like shigefusa and kato available. My feeling is that knowledge shared on this forum is only for personal edification and ther is an implicit understanding not to take advantage of this gift or use it to the detriment of those sharing it. I wish you well.

I think there is a fine line between what information you should share and what you should keep to yourself.
A certain amount of info is necessary to create an educated customer which helps to generate more sales and to justify the cost for different items.
But......
When it comes to your wholesale sources that is not something you share.

In the end I think it is best to go by your gut feelings.
If it feels like someone is trying to take advantage of you, don't go out of your way.
There are a lot of people on the internet who behave as if you owe them whatever they want to know.
But there are also a lot of great people as well.
Sometimes the hard part is sorting out which is which.

Thanks guys I forgot to mansion that there is 99 % of my costumers and just forum members here that suport me a lot !

And i am very happy about it !
Just need to take some measures to protect my work. But i will still try to be as open as posible on how to use things and plenty of more videos and info will be added to my website next year

in my short stint as a business owner in the car audio world, i had the same problem. trying to learn as much and share as much as i can of what i have learned. i had gotten into the same roadblocks when i shared a little too much of what i learned to people who were close to me. when i entered in to the culinary world, i felt the same way but also got into the same problems as you have in certain things. i have a great appreciation for people who would want to share and want to help his fellow man. and yes there are those people that just love to ruin the whole experience for everyone. it's just wrong, but such is life and such is business.

guess there are just some things that one has to hold back in order to "keep himself afloat"

good luck to those who think like you and i respect you for what you do and what you represent. you guys are good people. =D